The thrilling and true story of the development and operational deployment of human torpedoes - 'Chariots' - and 'X-craft' midget submarines in British naval service during WWII, and of the extraordinary men who crewed these dangerous vessels. The commando frogmen who rode the Chariots and operated as divers from the X-craft were the forerunners of today's Special Boat Service, the SBS.
Their aim was to attach an explosive charge underneath an enemy ship to destroy the vessel. Their hope was to return to their submarine unscathed. The Real X-Men tells the story of the sacrifice and heroism of the individual men, many of them little more than teenagers, who volunteered for this dangerous duty and who crewed both the Chariots and the X-craft without knowing the full extent of the risks entailed, nor indeed the very small chances they had of coming back alive.
| ISBN: | 9781784296742 |
| Publication date: | 5th May 2016 |
| Author: | Robert Lyman |
| Publisher: | Quercus an imprint of Quercus Publishing |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 336 pages |
| Genres: |
Biography: historical, political and military Second World War Modern warfare |
The thrilling and true story of the development and operational deployment of human torpedoes - 'Chariots' - and 'X-craft' midget submarines in British naval service during WWII, and of the extraordinary men who crewed these dangerous vessels. The commando frogmen who rode the Chariots and operated as divers from the X-craft were the forerunners of today's Special Boat Service, the SBS.
Their aim was to attach an explosive charge underneath an enemy ship to destroy the vessel. Their hope was to return to their submarine unscathed. The Real X-Men tells the story of the sacrifice and heroism of the individual men, many of them little more than teenagers, who volunteered for this dangerous duty and who crewed both the Chariots and the X-craft without knowing the full extent of the risks entailed, nor indeed the very small chances they had of coming back alive.
The Real X-Men features in the following genres: Biography: historical, political and military, Second World War, Modern warfare
The Real X-Men is available in Paperback, Hardback
The Real X-Men was written by Robert Lyman and published by Quercus an imprint of Quercus Publishing
The Real X-Men has 336 pages
£11.69